BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Thousands of people marched in Buenos Aires on Friday to condemn violence against women, the latest public outcry following the recent killings of three 12-year-old girls in Argentina and the gang rape of a teenage girl in Brazil.

The rally was organized on social media by women's groups under the slogan #NiUnaMenos, meaning "Not one less." Demonstrators wearing the purple wigs that represent the movement flooded the streets in front of the congress building. Many waved flags or wore shirts emblazoned with photos of victims of domestic violence.

"We're here because we want justice. Not just for us but everyone who has suffered," said Angelica Itati Nunez. She held a T-shirt displaying photos of her 15-year-old daughter, 6-year-old granddaughter and her mother-in-law, who were killed by the same man in 2012.

There were 275 gender-based killings of Argentine women in the past year, according to Casa del Encuentro, a women's rights group and shelter. In 40 of those cases, women had reported attacks by men, and some even had a restraining order.

In the case of Karina Abregu, half her body was badly burned after her husband doused her with alcohol and set her on fire in 2014. She had already reported beatings and other abuses during their 13 years of marriage, but she said authorities failed to intervene. Her husband was only jailed after her case was reported in the press. "If we don't get the protection we need from the government, we'll keep fighting in the streets to get it," said Abregu, whose husband was sentenced last April to 11 years in prison.

The #NiUnaMenos movement was launched in Argentina last year and garnered global attention. Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi joined last year's campaign with a message against femicides published on his Twitter account. During a recent visit, Michelle Obama also praised the efforts by Argentine women to fight against violence.

This year's march comes after the recent killings of three 12-year-olds in Argentina. Micaela Ortega was found strangled on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Police say a 26-year-old man tricked her into meeting him by pretending to be a girl of her same age using a fake profile on Facebook. Authorities say Milagros Torres was strangled by her mother's former boyfriend in northern Argentina. Guadalupe Medina was abused and murdered by a drug gang in Santa Fe province.

Similar marches against gender-based violence were held Friday in Uruguay and Brazil, where the recent gang rape of a 16-year-old girl shocked the nation and highlighted its endemic problem of violence against women.

MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Just hours after Shagufta Sayyd was married, her new husband told her he was having a relationship with another woman.

He was clear the two would have no future, the 21-year-old Sayyd said. He was only marrying her to please his mother. "He said, 'no, I don't want to keep you,'" she said. "So he said, 'divorce, divorce, divorce, three times, and that was it."

Sayyd still insists on using her husband's surname, until she can end the marriage officially in an Indian court. But like many other women from India's large Sunni Muslim minority, her fate and status are governed by Muslim Personal Law that follows the tenets of the Islamic faith, as interpreted by local imams and religious schools across India.

The so-called triple talaq, or instant divorce, has been banned in more than 20 Muslim countries, including neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh. But in India, the practice is allowed thanks to the country's rules protecting Muslim, Christian and Hindu communities following religious law.

Most of the 170 million Muslims in India are Sunnis governed by Muslim Personal Law for family matters and disputes. Those laws include allowing men to divorce their wives by simply uttering the word "talaq," or divorce in Urdu, three times - and not necessarily consecutively, but at any time, and by any medium including telephone, text message or social media post.

Some women are fed up with what they say is an archaic and patriarchal rule that too often leaves them destitute. Muslim women do not have the same right, and those left by their husbands have no claim to alimony though they can collect a small payment for three months after divorce.

Then, they're on their own. "They have been divorced by speed post, by sending out letters. Some have just simply said "talaq" three times and the divorce has happened," Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founder of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, or the Indian Muslim Women's Movement.

The movement has been fighting for equal laws for Muslim women for six years. "There are cases where women don't even know that they've been divorced," Niaz said. "The children are without any support. So, it has become very convenient for Muslim men to just say talaq thrice and it is just so easy for him to get the woman out of his life."

Legal experts say the practice is unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court has been pushing for uniformity in laws. In 1985, the top court ruled ordered a man to pay alimony to his elderly wife, after verbally divorcing and abandoning her.

The Indian government in office at the time, however, managed to overturn the verdict retroactively by passing a law to protect Muslim divorce law. Many suspect the government was under pressure from Muslim leaders to stay out of their business or lose their electoral support.

The move frustrated women's rights activists. India had long since banned dowry payments from a girl's parents to the family of a groom before marriage, though many still practice the ancient Hindu tradition openly, they note. And more recently, India threw out Hindu laws that barred women from inheriting property from their fathers.

What makes the instant divorce laws so difficult, some say, is the fact that they are not codified and so are open to interpretation and adjustment. One Supreme Court lawyer called the practice "barbaric." "This is a kind of an ISIS-like rule prevailing in India," the advocate, Monika Arora, said, referring to the militant Islamic State that controls much of Syria and Iraq. "No progressive country can tolerate this."

Earlier this month, the women's movement collected more than 50,000 signatures, calling for a nationwide ban on instant divorces. That petition was being added as evidence in an appeal filed to the Supreme Court to ban instant divorces. The court has asked the central government for its opinion before scheduling a hearing.

Since the 1950s, "Hindu personal law has been constantly evolving and codified," Arora said. "Why this 'touch-me-not' perception for Muslim laws?" She said India should follow the example set by other Islamic nations, including Turkey, Cyprus, Pakistan and Bangladesh, in banning the triple talaq.

But there is sure to be resistance. Some Islamic bodies, including the hardline Raza Academy based in Mumbai, say any women who dislike the laws of Islam can always leave the religion. One academy cleric, Mohammad Saeed Noori, said it was possible that men were not performing the triple talaq correctly. "Don't give three altogether in one go. People who do that are doing it wrong," Noori said. But "if he says it thrice, then the divorce is immediately confirmed. Then that woman has to immediately leave his house."

Kenyan man chopped off wife's hands because he couldn't impregnate her 2 August 2016

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- A Kenyan woman says she wants her husband jailed for life for chopping off her hands with a machete because she allegedly could not bear him children.

Stephen Ngila has been charged with attempted murder after the July 25 attack. His wife, Jackline Mwende Ngila, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that tests have shown that her husband is the one with reproductive issues. She says their relationship deteriorated after the tests, and that her husband did not show up for treatment as doctors prescribed.

Human rights groups have condemned the attack. Naitore Nyamu of the organization Equality Now says the government needs to take a zero-tolerance stance on protecting the rights of women and girls. The attack occurred in Machakos town southeast of the capital, Nairobi.

LIMA, Peru (AP) -- More than 50,000 people marched in Peru's capital and eight other cities on Saturday to protest violence against women and what they say is the indifference of the judicial system.

Officials said the size of the protest against gender violence was unprecedented in Peru and followed several recent high-profile cases in which male perpetrators were given what women's groups said were too-lenient sentences. The march in Lima ended at the palace of justice. "Today, the 13th of August, is a historic day for this country because it represents a breaking point and the start of a new culture to eradicate the marginalization that women have been suffering, especially with violence," said Victor Ticona, president of Peru's judicial system. Ticona said that a commission of judges would receive representatives of the protesters.

Newly inaugurated President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski took part in the march along with first lady Nancy Lange. "What we don't want in Peru is violence against anyone, but especially against women and children," he said. Earlier in the day, Kuczynski said his government is "going to ask for facilities for women to denounce violence because abuse flourishes in an environment where complaints cannot be made and the blows are absorbed in silence - and this is not how it should be."

Peru's march follows similar protests against gender violence in other Latin American countries, including Argentina and Brazil, held under the slogan #NiUnaMenos - #NotOneLess.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Tens of thousands of Argentines marched in the capital of Buenos Aires on Wednesday to condemn violence against women, the latest public outcry following the brutal killing of a 16-year-old girl who was drugged, raped and tortured.

Lucia Perez was killed in the coastal city of Mar del Plata earlier this month. Authorities say she was forced to consume cocaine, and was later raped and impaled by two men who have been arrested. The prosecutor investigating the crime called the attack "an act of inhuman sexual aggression."

The demonstrators, including schoolchildren and women with children in strollers, braved the heavy rain to gather at the iconic Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires. Chanting slogans and carrying banners and flags, they marched to the pink presidential palace at the Plaza de Mayo square. "I'm here to demand justice for my grandchildren," said Helga Scumlitz, 74, who was moved to join the march after she heard about the gruesome killing of Lucia Perez in the news. "What's happening is horrible. And it's happening every day."

The demonstration, which is being echoed across Argentina and in other Latin American countries, was organized on social media by women's groups under the slogans NiUnaMenos, meaning "Not one less" and "Black Wednesday." "I heard about this girl who was raped to death. It's so unfair and it should never happen again," said Malena Resino, a 14-year-old student who joined the march with her classmates after school. "I'm very proud that so many people joined because together we can achieve something."

There were 275 gender-based killings of Argentine women in the past year, according to Casa del Encuentro, a women's rights group and shelter. In 40 of those cases, women had reported attacks by men, and some even had restraining orders. "How many more like Lucia are out there and nothing has been done?" Marta Montero, the mother of Lucia Perez asked during an interview with local radio Vorterix.

Demonstrators, who dressed in black to mourn Perez and other victims, also staged a brief work stoppage earlier in the day as a sign of protest. "It's important that not only women but also men join this movement. Our husbands are here wearing black and are supporting the protest," said Monica Pavicich, 59, who demonstrated with her work colleagues in downtown Buenos Aires.

Similar marches against gender-based violence also took place in Mexico, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. A large banner carried by protesters in one of the main avenues of the Chilean capital read: "Furious and in mourning." More than 25,000 people were estimated to have demonstrated in Santiago and more than 20 other cities throughout the country.

Hundreds of people gathered at Mexico City's Angel of Independence monument. Many of them had purple and black handprints painted on their bodies to protest gender violence. Diana Echeverria, a 23-year-old student, said she was forced to flee her home state of San Luis Potosi after she was sexually abused a year ago. "The authorities refused to help me," she said. "They told me that this is what life is like."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of women filled the streets of major American cities to lead an unprecedented wave of international protests against President Donald Trump, mocking and denouncing the new U.S. leader the day after his inauguration.

Women activists, outraged by Trump's campaign rhetoric and behavior they found to be especially misogynistic, spearheaded scores of marches in the United States and sympathy rallies around the world on Saturday. Organizers said they drew nearly 5 million protesters in all, far surpassing crowd expectations. The demonstrations also highlighted strong discontent over Trump's comments and policy positions toward a wide range of groups, including Mexican immigrants, Muslims, the disabled and environmentalists.

In contrast to the heated, often shrill tone of the presidential campaign, and the grim imagery of "American carnage" Trump evoked in his inaugural address, the mood during Saturday's protests was largely upbeat, even festive. Chanting such slogans as, "We need a real leader, not a creepy tweeter," and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Donald Trump has got to go," many marchers wore knitted pink cat-eared "pussy hats" in a reference to Trump's boast, in a 2005 video made public weeks before the election, about grabbing women by the genitals.

While women constituted the bulk of the demonstrators, many were accompanied by husbands, boyfriends and children. The planned centerpiece of the protests, a Women's March on Washington, appeared to draw larger crowds than turned out a day earlier to witness Trump's swearing-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

No official estimates of the turnout were available, but it clearly exceeded the 200,000 marchers projected in advance by organizers, filling long stretches of downtown Washington around the White House and the National Mall. Hundreds of thousands more women thronged New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Boston, adding to a public outpouring of mass dissent against Trump unmatched in modern U.S. politics for a new president's first full day in office.

So-called Sister March organizers estimated 750,000 demonstrators swarmed the streets of Los Angeles, one of the largest of Saturday's gatherings. Police said the turnout there was as big or bigger than a 2006 pro-immigration march that drew 500,000. Some 400,000 marchers assembled in New York City, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio, though organizers put the number there at 600,000.

The Chicago event grew so large that organizers staged a rally rather than trying to parade through the city. Police said more than 125,000 people attended, while sponsors estimated the crowd at 200,000, the same tally they reported for Boston, and Denver. Smaller protests were held in such cities as Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Madison, Wisconsin, and Bismarck, North Dakota.

The protests, mostly peaceful, illustrated the depth of division in a country still reeling from the bitterly fought 2016 election campaign. Trump stunned the world by defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state and first lady who made history as the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.

Pam Foyster, a resident of Ridgway, Colorado, said the atmosphere in Washington reminded her of mass protests during the 1960s and '70s against the Vietnam War and in favor of civil rights and women's rights. "I'm 58 years old, and I can't believe we are having to do this again," Foyster said.

Although Republicans now control the White House and both houses of Congress, Trump faces entrenched opposition from wide segments of the public, in contrast with the honeymoon period new presidents typically experience when first taking office. In a Twitter post early on Sunday, the new president appeared to downplay the significance of the protests when compared to his victory in the Nov. 8 election. "Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election!" he tweeted. "Why didn't these people vote?" A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found Trump had the lowest favorability rating of any incoming U.S. president since the 1970s.

Women-led protests against Trump, who has vowed that U.S. policy would be based on the principle of "America first," also were staged in Sydney, London, Tokyo and other cities across Europe and Asia. Sister March sponsors boasted some 670 gatherings around the world in solidarity with the Washington event, estimating a global turnout of more than 4.6 million participants tallied through online march registrations, although those numbers could not be independently verified.

Trump, in a Twitter post on Saturday, wrote, "I am honored to serve you, the great American People, as your 45th President of the United States!" Attending an interfaith service at Washington National Cathedral before visiting the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, Trump made no mention of the protests.

But he angrily attacked media reports, including photos, showing that crowds at Friday's inaugural were smaller than those seen in 2009 and 2013, when Barack Obama took the oath of office for his first and second terms as president. "I made a speech, I looked out, the field was, it looked like a million, million and a half people," Trump said at his CIA visit. "They showed a field where there were practically nobody standing there."

Saturday's march in Washington overwhelmed the city's Metro subway system, with enormous crowds reported and some stations temporarily forced to turn away riders. The Metro reported 275,000 rides as of 11 a.m. Saturday, 82,000 more than the 193,000 reported at the same time on Friday, Inauguration Day, and eight times normal Saturday volume.

The peaceful atmosphere of Saturday's march contrasted sharply with unrest the day before, when groups of black-clad anti-establishment activists, among hundreds of anti-Trump protesters, smashed windows, set vehicles on fire and fought with riot police, who responded with stun grenades. Washington prosecutors said about $100,000 in damage had been done and 230 adults and five minors had been arrested.

Clinton won the popular vote in the Nov. 8 presidential election by around 2.9 million votes and exceeded Trump's support among women voters by more than 10 percentage points. Trump, however, easily prevailed in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that actually determines the outcome of the race.

Trump offered few if any olive branches to his opponents in his Friday inauguration speech. "He has never seemed particularly concerned about people who oppose him," said Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.

But the lawmakers who Trump needs onside to achieve his policy goals may be more sensitive to the show of mass opposition demonstrated by the anti-Trump rallies, Levesque said. "Members of Congress are very sensitive to the public mood, and many of them are down here this week to see him," Levesque said.

The decision was issued Thursday by the Libyan Chief of Staff Abdel-Razek al-Nadhouri, the military ruler of eastern Libya. He was appointed by army chief Khalifa Hifter who is allied with the internationally recognized parliament.

Airport authorities said the decision hasn't been put into effect. "It is ridiculous that in 2017 we discuss if it is ok for women under 60 years to travel without a guardian male who might be 20," activist Imam Bugaighis tweeted.

One satire made a song called "I can be your Mahram baby" a Libyan version of Enrique Iglesias "I can be your Hero baby." Mahram is a religious term that refers to male guardian.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- A Polish member of the European Parliament has launched another sexist tirade, calling it a "20th century stereotype that women have the same intellectual potential as men," and that the stereotype "must be destroyed because it is not true."

Janusz Korwin-Mikke's insults on Friday in Warsaw came two days after he told the European Parliament that "women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent."

The president of the Parliament opened an investigation Thursday into the comments, for which Korwin-Mikke could face sanctions such as a reprimand, a fine or a temporary suspension. His latest blast came after he was challenged by female lawmakers during a visit to the Polish parliament in Warsaw.

Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, from the Modern party, accused him of offending women and said she would not allow him to do it again. "There are more women than men in Poland, we're better educated, and I will not let you offend Polish women, European women and women all over the world. It's a disgrace," she told him.

Korwin-Mikke has a history of getting attention for outrageous comments, including comparing the European Union to the Third Reich. In 2015, he raised his arm in a Nazi salute to make a political point in the European Parliament, the EU's elected legislative arm, forcing the centrist government in Warsaw at the time to apologize and express shame for his behavior. Korwin-Mikke heads a small party which won just under 5 percent of the vote in Poland's last parliamentary election in 2015, failing to clear the 5 percent threshold to get any seats.

Women go on strike in US to show their economic cloutBy ERRIN HAINES WHACKMarch 8, 2017

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Many American women stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red Wednesday to demonstrate how vital they are to the U.S. economy, as International Women's Day was observed with a multitude of events around the world.

The Day Without a Woman protest in the U.S. was put together by organizers of the vast women's marches that drew more than 1 million Americans the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

The turnout on the streets this time was much smaller in many places, with crowds often numbering in the hundreds. There were no immediate estimates of how many women heeded the call to skip work.

"Trump is terrifying. His entire administration, they have no respect for women or our rights," said 49-year-old Adina Ferber, who took a vacation day from her job at an art gallery to attend a demonstration in New York City. "They need to deal with us as an economic force."

The U.S. event - inspired in part by the Day Without an Immigrant protest held last month - was part of the U.N.-designated International Women's Day.

In Warsaw, thousands of women showed Poland's conservative government red cards and made noise with kitchenware to demand full birth control rights, respect and higher pay.

In Rome, hundreds of women marched from the Colosseum to demand equal rights. Thousands marched in Istanbul, despite restrictions on demonstrations imposed since last year's failed coup. Turkish police did not interfere.

Women also held rallies in Tokyo and Madrid.

Germany's Lufthansa airline arranged for six all-female crews to fly into Berlin. Sweden's women's soccer team replaced the names on the backs of the players' jerseys with tweets from Swedish women. Finland announced a new $160,000 International Gender Equality Prize.

A crowd of about 1,000 people, the vast majority of them women, gathered on New York's Fifth Avenue in the shadow of Trump Tower. Women wore red and waved signs reading "Nevertheless she persisted," ''Misogyny out of the White House now" and "Resist like a girl." Thirteen people were arrested for blocking traffic, police said.

School in such places as Prince George's County, Maryland; Alexandria, Virginia; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, canceled classes after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out. In Providence, Rhode Island, the municipal court closed for lack of staff members.

In Washington, more than 20 Democratic female representatives walked out of the Capitol to address a cheering crowd of several hundred people.

Dressed in red, the lawmakers criticized efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi encouraged more women to go into politics, saying, "You have marched for progress. Now you must run for office."

A few hundred people gathered on the lawn outside Los Angeles City Hall to rally for women's rights. Julie D'Angelo took the day off from her job in music licensing, saying she wanted to stand for those women who can't afford time away from work or are too intimidated to ask for the day off.

Hundreds of women dressed in red and holding signs with photos of their local lawmakers gathered at the Utah Capitol to remind legislators they are closely watching how they handle women's issues.

In Denver, several hundred people marched silently around the state Capitol. Kelly Warren brought her daughters, ages 3 and 12.

"We wanted to represent every marginalized woman whose voice doesn't count as much as a man's," said Warren, a sales associate in the male-dominated construction industry.

Some businesses and institutions said they would either close or give female employees the day off.

The owners of the Grindcore House in Philadelphia closed their vegan coffee shop, where eight of the 10 employees are women.

"The place definitely wouldn't run without us," said Whitney Sullivan, a 27-year-old barista who planned to attend a rally.

In New York, a statue of a fearless-looking girl was placed in front of Wall Street's famous charging bull sculpture. The girl appeared to be staring down the animal. A plaque at her feet read: "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference."

As part of the Day Without a Woman protest, women were also urged to refrain from shopping.

Some criticized the strike, warning that many women cannot afford to miss work or find child care. Organizers asked those unable to skip work to wear red in solidarity.

Monique LaFonta Leone, a 33-year-old health care consultant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had to work but put on a red shirt and donated to charity, including Planned Parenthood.

"I have bills to pay, but I wanted to make my voice heard, no matter how quiet," she said. "I also wanted to make a statement to say that women are doing it for themselves. We're out here in the workforce and making a difference every day."

Trump took to Twitter to salute "the critical role of women" in the U.S. and around the world. He tweeted that he has "tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy."

First lady Melania Trump marked the day by hosting a luncheon at the White House for about 50 women.

The White House said none of its female staff members skipped work in support of International Women's Day.

Lovely Monkey Tattoo, a female-owned tattoo parlor in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, offered tattoos with messages like "Nevertheless, She Persisted" - a reference to the recent silencing of Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the Senate floor - with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.

Women make up more than 47 percent of the U.S. workforce and are dominant among registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists, according to the census.

They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, and the same with lawyers and judges. Women also account for 55 percent of all college students.

At the same time, American women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- A Polish member of the European Parliament has launched another sexist tirade, calling it a "20th century stereotype that women have the same intellectual potential as men," and that the stereotype "must be destroyed because it is not true."

Janusz Korwin-Mikke's insults on Friday in Warsaw came two days after he told the European Parliament that "women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent."

The president of the Parliament opened an investigation Thursday into the comments, for which Korwin-Mikke could face sanctions such as a reprimand, a fine or a temporary suspension. His latest blast came after he was challenged by female lawmakers during a visit to the Polish parliament in Warsaw.

Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, from the Modern party, accused him of offending women and said she would not allow him to do it again. "There are more women than men in Poland, we're better educated, and I will not let you offend Polish women, European women and women all over the world. It's a disgrace," she told him.

Korwin-Mikke has a history of getting attention for outrageous comments, including comparing the European Union to the Third Reich. In 2015, he raised his arm in a Nazi salute to make a political point in the European Parliament, the EU's elected legislative arm, forcing the centrist government in Warsaw at the time to apologize and express shame for his behavior. Korwin-Mikke heads a small party which won just under 5 percent of the vote in Poland's last parliamentary election in 2015, failing to clear the 5 percent threshold to get any seats.

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Parliament suspended a Polish lawmaker for 10 days on Tuesday after he said during a debate that women should earn less than men because they are weaker, smaller and less intelligent.

As well as the suspension, Janusz Korwin-Mikke faces other punishments, Parliament President Antonio Tajani told lawmakers in Strasbourg, France. He will lose his lawmakers' daily subsistence allowance for 30 days, which means he stands to lose out on 9,180 euros ($9,800) in total. In addition, he is being banned from representing the legislature for a year, meaning he won't be able to participate in parliamentary delegations, for example.

Tajani's announcement was greeted by applause. Korwin-Mikke appeared to laugh and clap himself as his punishment was read out. The European Parliament characterized the sanctions as being "unprecedented in severity."

During a March 1 debate on the gender pay gap Korwin-Mikke, a radical right-winger who leads a marginal party, said: "Of course women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent. They must earn less, that's all."

Parliamentary authorities opened an investigation under rules specifying that members must show mutual respect and refrain from "defamatory, racist or xenophobic language or behavior." "I will not tolerate such behaviour, in particular when it comes from someone who is expected to discharge his duties as a representative of the peoples of Europe with due dignity," Tajani said. "By offending all women, (Korwin-Mikke) displayed contempt for our most fundamental values."

When a new style of seat suddenly appeared on Mexico City's metro system, it was labelled as inappropriate, uncomfortable, humiliating and embarrassing.

It was supposed to be. The seat, moulded to include a protruding penis and chest, was designed to highlight sexual harassment experienced by female passengers. The explanation next to the men-only label read: "It is uncomfortable to sit here, but that is nothing compared to the sexual violence that women suffer on their daily journeys."

The seat is not a permanent fixture, but part of a campaign launched by UN Women and the Mexico City authorities called #NoEsDeHombres, which aimed to highlight sexual harassment on public transport.

But the response has been mixed. Underneath a video of the stunt, which has been seen more than 700,000 times in the past 10 days, some viewers praised the idea, while others called it "sexist" and unfair to men.

Gendes is a Mexican civil society organisation that focuses on working with men to promote equality and combat sexual harassment, which remains a major problem in the country. Rene Lopez Perez, who heads their research programme, praised the campaign for taking an important issue and making it a talking point. But he also stressed the importance of not seeing all men as attackers. "It's important not to stigmatise all men as violent and potential attackers of women," he said.

Holly Kearl, who founded the US-based website Stop Street Harassment, said there was something to be said for turning the focus away from women for once. When she attended the UN Women Safe Cities Global Leaders' Forum in Mexico City last month, she noted the onus of change was often put on women. "Too often initiatives around women's safety focus on what women should or should not do, so it is refreshing to see a creative campaign aimed at men," she said.

The Mexican capital's public transit system has long had a bad reputation for women's safety. In 2014, UK polling company YouGov conducted a survey about harassment on public transportation worldwide. For verbal and physical harassment, Mexico City's metro was voted the worst.

Over the years, the city has tried various strategies to make women feel safer. Trains have separate carriages for women. Women-only buses were also launched. An art collective, known as Las Hijas De Violencia (The Daughters of Violence), saw women responding to street harassment by blasting back at attackers with punk music and a confetti cannon.

Last year, the city's mayor caused controversy by announcing another new strategy: women were to be offered a small, city-branded whistle that they could toot when they felt threatened. The plan was largely derided for not getting to the root of the problem. "If screaming doesn't help, how will this?" wrote Mexico-based journalist Andrea Noel on Twitter.

Another Twitter user parodied the idea by suggesting the mayor's office also created a set of maracas to shake when you come across a case of corruption.

Ninde, who does not want to be known by her full name, says she has no trust in the female-only carriages after she was assaulted in one last year when a man ejaculated over her. She tries not to use the metro now, and will only do so if accompanied. She would like to see more done to improve the service for women, but she does not think the "penis seats" help. "It seems to ridicule sexual harassment. A real sexual assault is nothing like this," she says. "I feel a little outraged that there are no real actions to eradicate the problem."

Forms of sexual harassment in public in the Argentine capital could now land perpetrators with a $60 (£47) fine.

Cat-calling and other types of harassment are seen as normal by some in Buenos Aires, but the city council voted on Wednesday to draw a line. "Direct or indirect comments referring to a person's body" are among offences which could attract punishment.

Argentina has seen an increase in campaigning by women to change the way they are viewed by society. The rape and murder of 16-year-old Lucia Perez in the city of Mar del Plata in October prompted widespread outrage. Thousands of women marched in protest and many staged strikes.

One of the main groups campaigning against violence against women in Argentina, NiUnaMenos (Not One Less), says a woman is killed there every 30 hours simply because of her sex. Such crimes are seen by many as arising from cultural tolerance of disparaging attitudes to women, including casual harassment.

The Buenos Aires law against harassment takes in offences including making images of genitalia without consent, unwanted physical contact, pursuing someone, and public masturbation and indecent exposure. Offenders could also be made to do community service. The law envisages public education campaigns, too, to try to change attitudes.

"Some forms of sexual harassment in public are accepted as a traditional part of our culture," said Pablo Ferreyra, the lawmaker behind the bill. "That should not be a reason to tolerate this abuse."

President Mauricio Macri received relatives of victims of sexual violence at the presidential palace in November. But he was himself criticised by his daughter after once suggesting that women liked to be told: "What a nice ass you have". He later apologised.

NEW DELHI (AP) -- A 24-year-old woman in southern India cut off the genitals of a Hindu holy man who tried to rape her and who she alleged has been sexually assaulting her for the past eight years, police said Saturday.

G. Sparjan Kumar, a police officer in Thiruvananthapuram, the Kerala state capital, said the woman fled her home after the incident Friday night and called police. The alleged attacker, 54-year-old Gangeshananda Theerthapada, who claims to be a spiritual healer, was reported to be in stable condition after reconstructive surgery.

Pinarayi Vijayan, the state's chief minister, told reporters on Saturday that it was brave of the woman to take such action. "It's a courageous and strong act by the woman," he said.

The New Delhi Television news channel said the woman's family knew Theerthapada, who used to visit their home to cure her bed-ridden father. She told police that he would rape her whenever he got an opportunity. When he again visited her home on Friday night and tried to force himself on her, she got hold of a knife and attacked him, Kumar said.

Violent crimes against women have been on the rise in India despite tough laws enacted by the government.

NEW DELHI (AP) -- India's powerful lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a bill making the practice of instant divorce illegal and punishable with up to three years imprisonment for offending husbands.

The bill came months after India's Supreme Court ruled that the Muslim practice that allows men to instantly divorce their wives was unconstitutional. Several opposition parties criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for not discussing the legislation with them before introducing it in Parliament on Thursday. The approved bill will now go to the upper house of parliament, where it needs approval before it becomes law.

More than 20 Muslim countries, including neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned the practice. But in India, the practice has continued with the protection of laws that allow Muslim, Christian and Hindu communities to follow religious law in matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption. While most Hindu personal laws have been overhauled and codified over the years, Muslim laws have been left to religious authorities and left largely untouched.

Women's rights activist Zakia Soman said it was a much needed law for Muslim women, who have suffered legal discrimination with Hindu and Christian women enjoying protection under separate laws. Most of the 170 million Muslims in India are Sunnis governed by Muslim Personal Law for family matters and disputes. Those laws include allowing men to divorce their wives by simply uttering the Arabic word "talaq," or divorce, three times - and not necessarily consecutively, but at any time, and by any medium, including telephone, text message or social media post.

Kamal Farooqi, a leader representing the All India Muslim Personal Board, a top grouping of Islamic organisations, said the organization was opposed to the practice of instant divorce but argued against the government or courts interfering in religious laws. He said the board was in favor of leaving the divorce issue to the Muslim community to tackle. But several progressive Muslim activists decried the board's position.

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